Firefighters began slowing the spread of deadly and destructive blazes in the Los Angeles area Thursday after the high winds that fueled rapid spread of flames diminished, though larger blazes remained out of control.
Crews were able to eliminate a major threat that erupted Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills, close to the heart of the entertainment industry, and by the morning the evacuation order for the area was lifted.
“While we still face significant threats, I am hopeful that the situation will change,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Katherine Barger said during a news conference Thursday morning.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said water falling from planes helped firefighters control fires in the Hollywood Hills and Studio City. There was a lot of destruction around the city after those planes were grounded due to high winds.
High winds remained a risk on Thursday, but the weather forecast could signal an opportunity for firefighters to make progress in curbing the blazes, which have killed at least seven people and devastated communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena, California. It caused thousands of people to frantically flee their homes.
Nadia Williamson, a Canadian living in Los Angeles, fled her home as a powerful wildfire approached. “Before I knew it, the entire barricade was gone.”
The toll of the fires is still being calculated. Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Christine Crowley said the Palisades Fire along the coast burned thousands of buildings.
“It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most devastating natural disasters in Los Angeles history,” she said.
Flames from the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills put densely populated neighborhoods on edge Wednesday night. A few kilometers away, the streets surrounding the Hollywood Walk of Fame, TCL Chinese Theater and Madame Tussauds were bustling with activity, with some onlookers using their phones to record video of the burning hills.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the death toll was expected to rise as cadaver dogs and search crews began searching through the rubble. Late Thursday, officials updated the death toll from five to seven.
Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Eric Scott said firefighters were able to get the fire under control because “we hit it hard and fast and Mother Nature was a little better for us today.”
The Canadian Interagency Wildfire Centre, which coordinates the response to cross-border wildfires with the United States, said it was working Thursday to send two CL-415 water bombers to help fight the fires.
Hurricane-force winds fan the flames
On Wednesday, hurricane-force winds, gusting to 129 km/h, sent embers igniting block after block in the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades and in the nearby community of Altadena.
Thousands of homes, businesses and other structures were destroyed in those fires — called the Palisades and Eaton fires — and the number is expected to rise.
These two fires already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, having scorched nearly 125 square kilometers so far — an area larger than Disney World — and reducing entire neighborhoods to ash.
Although they are no longer spreading significantly, they remain below the zero percent containment level, officials said.
The Eaton Fire alone damaged or destroyed 4,000 to 5,000 structures, said Luna, the county sheriff. Officials said the Palisades Fire destroyed another 5,300 buildings, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Aerial footage collected by KNBC early Thursday shows the sprawling Palisades Fire, one of five major fires in the Los Angeles area.
In Pasadena, Fire Chief Chad Augustin said Wednesday that the city’s water system was overloaded and crews were further hampered by power outages. He added that even without these problems, firefighters would not have been able to stop the rapidly spreading fire.
“Those erratic winds were blowing embers for several miles before the fire,” he said.
However, questions have been raised about why some taps ran dry and what caused the water system to malfunction when it was needed most.
Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness, said on Channel X that he has contacted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the United States to offer support.
“The Canadian team, along with Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, is prepared to deploy 250 firefighters, aircraft equipment and other resources early tonight,” he wrote, adding that the Canadian Forces are on standby to transport personnel and equipment.
Canada also sent water bombers from Alberta.
“To our American neighbours: Canada is here to help,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X.
180,000 people were ordered to evacuate
In Pacific Palisades, a hillside enclave along the coast dotted with celebrity homes, block after block of California-style homes and bungalows was reduced to charred remains. An ornate iron railing wraps around the flaring frame of a house.
About 180,000 people are under evacuation orders, and the fires have consumed about 117 square kilometers, an area approximately the size of the city of San Francisco.

Jose Velasquez sprayed his family’s home in Altadena with water as embers fell on the roof. He managed to save the building, which also houses their family pastry business. Many of his neighbors were working as the fire spread through their homes.
“We had to call a few people, and then we received messages from people, asking them if their house was still standing,” he said. “We had to tell them that wasn’t the case.”
About 250 houses in Altadena were reduced to rubble. Only a few houses remain, some of which are still burning according to satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies. A few of the 70 homes overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu appeared intact.
Actors lost their homes
The fire swept through affluent neighborhoods that are home to California’s rich and famous.
Mandy Moore, Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton were among the stars who lost their homes. Billy Crystal and his wife, Janice, lost their home of 45 years in the Palisades Fire.
Jamie Lee Curtis has pledged $1 million to start a “support fund” for those affected by the bushfires.
In the village of Palisades, the public library, two large grocery stores, a couple of banks, and several shops were destroyed.
“It’s really weird coming back to a place that doesn’t really exist anymore,” said Dylan Vincent, who said his elementary school burned down.
Hollywood Studios halted production, and Universal Studios closed its theme park.
Longer fire season
The main fires grew quickly in different areas and had two things in common: densely populated homes in places choked with dry vegetation that were primed to catch fire.
The flames moved so quickly that many people did not have time to escape, so some abandoned their cars and set off on foot. The police sought shelter inside their cars.

California’s wildfire season is starting earlier and ending later due to higher temperatures and lower precipitation linked to climate change, according to recent data. The rains that usually end the fire season are often delayed, meaning fires can burn during the winter months, according to the Western Fire Chiefs Association.
Dry winds, including the notorious Santa Anse, contributed to above-average temperatures in Southern California, which has not seen more than 2.5 millimeters of rain since early May.
Private weather forecasting company AccuWeather estimated damage and economic losses at between $135 billion and $150 billion, portending an arduous recovery and higher insurance costs for homeowners.
In all, five wildfires were burning in Los Angeles County, including a fast-growing fire across the border from Ventura County. The sky was filled with planes dropping retardant and water onto the burning hills.
With tension so high, Los Angeles County mistakenly sent a countywide eviction notice to a population of 9.6 million, but a correction was quickly sent out, said Janice Hahn, a county supervisor.
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